Europe on alert: fall 2010 terror plots

European officials thwart Mumbai-style attack in September

In late September, Western intelligence officials disclosed that they had uncovered an Al Qaeda plot to carry out coordinated attacks in major Western cities. The plan was apparently modeled after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. According to those officials, the plot involved groups of gunmen in major European cities who would take hostages and execute them. The plot was traced back to Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan, the Monitor reported.

“For some time European countries have been under threat of a small arms attack like Mumbai but now there is evidence of a clear plot to do something like that,” a Western intelligence official told the Mirror. “Al Qaeda has suffered greatly at the hands of the drone strikes and its leadership wants a spectacular [attack].”